


Sweet and Spicy

by Foxberry



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Bathing, Die Sonderlinge, F/M, Fluff, Hair Washing, Relaxing, bath scene, canonverse, levihan - Freeform, non-binary Hange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-12
Updated: 2015-06-12
Packaged: 2018-04-04 00:40:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4120234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxberry/pseuds/Foxberry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi surprises Hange with a bath after work like usual, but something is different about him this time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sweet and Spicy

**Author's Note:**

> This was my contribution to the Levihan Fanbook [Die Sonderlinge](https://www.etsy.com/listing/236512126/die-sonderlinge-a-levi-x-hange-fan-book?ref=shop_home_active_4). The book is still available for purchase at the link. Please go check it out.  
> [](http://szenandoa.tumblr.com/post/121796378409/my-second-illustration-for-the-levihan-themed)  
>   
> 
> 
> Based on this [beautiful illustration](http://szenandoa.tumblr.com/post/121796378409/my-second-illustration-for-the-levihan-themed) by [Rara](http://szenandoa.tumblr.com/). It was such a pleasure working on this theme with her.

With books up to their chin, Hange maneuvers awkwardly to reach the doorknob to their apartment. Their fingers stick out from beneath the pile, trying desperately to move the doorknob just enough to unlock it.

“Oh come on,” they whine, leaning against the door, “that’s it. Just a little more.” The doorknob surrenders and squeaks when they finally turn it. “Success!” With a shove and a grunt, they push the door open with a foot and chuckle to themselves.  


Finally home, Hange shuffles inside. Their messy hair begins to fall from its tie, strands falling before their eyes. Their clothes are covered in dirt and sweat and some unnameable grime, but they don’t mind. It’s all part of the job. They thump down their burden beside a great self-made shelf of books, towering crookedly above the creaking wooden floor. White ceramic vases sit dangerously lopsided with the flora of strange flowers they had procured. Pages of notes are strewn over them in piles. It might be a mess, but Hange swears it is an organised one and they know where everything is.  


“They’re going to fall,” a deep voice remarks from behind them. Footsteps approach them slowly.  


Hange turns their head, adjusting the last few books into place. “No, they’ll be _fine_.” They flick their wrist dismissively with a sing-song lilt to their voice. “It’s a matter of balance.”  


Levi approaches and straightens the books with a dissatisfied huff, standing and staring at his correction, still somewhat displeased. His dark, black hair is slightly out of place. His eyes show the signs of restless sleep. He looks no more well-rested than he usually does. He hasn’t slept. Again. His blue eyes settle on theirs.

“Wait…” Hange takes a step back. “It’s that day again, isn’t it?” They gesture in circles, attempting to distract him enough to get away, trying to downplay the nervous laughter bubbling in their throat. “Look, I have _things_ I’m doing and there’s a very interesting…” They search the room, eyes darting for any kind of excuse. “... bug…” Hange vaguely points to a far stained glass window. “... on that window. Over there. You see it?” Levi obliges and turns his head with a sigh. “Yup, that one. I’d better see to it.” They shuffle aside to move around him, determined and wide-eyed with a nervous smile.

Yet Levi grabs them by the wrist, firmly but softly, and tilts his head before tugging them in the direction of the bathroom. Hange stops, staring at the ground in silence. Their lips move to speak, but no words come.

Levi is quiet today. Quieter than he normally is. By now he would have interjected and told them off. He would have pushed them in the back towards the bathroom, removed Hange’s glasses, and told them to strip, muttering something about how they were likely trying to grow some new species of mould.

Hange meets his gaze, curious. “You’re a little strange today.” They try to remove their hand, but his grasp is iron. “You’re not normally here unless it means…” They trail off and wriggle their hand out of his grasp with a huff, starting off towards the bathroom. They can hear him follow slowly behind them.

Hange finds the bathroom warm and sweetly scented with just a hint of cinnamon. The pink tiles are covered in weeks of dust and scum; chips in them dot parts of the wall and the floor. Cobwebs adorn the top corners of the bathroom, their inhabitants long gone.

“The bathroom’s still dirty?” Hange turns around, bewildered. “There’s dust. Actual _grime._ ” They ponder aloud, nibbling nervously on their finger and eyeing him dubiously.  
  
In the centre stands a brass bathtub, freshly filled with water milky in colour, steam rising from the surface. It’s a scent similar to something Hange can’t put their finger on. It has been too long since they last smelled it, but somehow it reminds them of home. A handful of cloves, short cinnamon stalks, and vanilla beans rest on the surface, bobbing and floating gently around the tub. Hange removes their goggles and drapes them over the side.

“Now, what’s this?” Their voice rises in amusement. “The tub seems cleaner.” Their hands delve into the water. It’s silky and smooth to their touch, and slightly more resistant than water. They splash it around with a flick of their wrist. “It’s an experiment, isn’t it?”

Levi corrects them. “You’re the one who really likes those.” He moves to their side, uncrossing his arms to place both hands on one end of the tub. He seems to rest his weight against it. “I’m not too interested in that kind of thing, myself.”

“And yet, here we are. This isn’t like you.” Hange nudges him with an elbow, knocking his hands off the bathtub. “Are you sure I’m not rubbing off on you?”

He ponders for a moment, rubbing his chin and giving it more consideration than they had figured he would. His face contorts for a moment, his eyes fixed on the bathtub. “Could be contagious...maybe.”

“Well,” Hange takes a deep satisfied breath and a grin creeps onto their face as they peer over at Levi from the corner of their eye. “I should probably get in, then, right?” They raise an eyebrow at him expectantly, splashing the water with the tips of their fingers.

Adjusting his weight, Levi gestures at their clothes, looking away. “That’s the idea. Go on and...”

“Strip?” they chuckle, stirring their hand in the water. White ripples swim to the edge of the tub and back again. Their laughter echoes in the room. “Where’s the usual ‘clothes off and in the tub, gremlin’?” The pair’s eyes catch. Hange laughs; Levi raises his eyebrows. Cocking their head to the side, they challenge him with their gaze. He grunts dismissively and nods at them.

Hange begins to disrobe, seeking his attention—sliding off their jacket, undoing their buckles, pulling off their straps, unbuttoning their shirt. “Any other directions? Fast, slow?”  
  
Pulling up a stool, Levi avoids looking at them, head down. He rests with his feet apart, elbows on his knees, just inches from the tub. “The quicker, the better.”  
  
“What’s the rush?” Hange jokes, but their smile doesn’t reach their eyes. They are too busy checking off their mental list of what could be affecting him. Their pants slip to the floor, forgotten, a blip in the process of their mind. They furrow their brow. Levi waits—quiet, patient, not rushing them this time.

He speaks up through gritted teeth, trying to hide a smile and rolling his eyes. “Get in.”

“Aye, Cap’n.” Hange steps in, the warm of the water embracing their legs and pulling them in. One wary eye watches Levi, sitting on his stool, carefully keeping their gaze as if to stop his eyes from wandering. Their face warms before they sink in.

"It's just water, dipshit," he groans, reaching up to push them down into the water. His grip in their hair is firm but gentle. "Sit your ass down already."

Hange huffs, but reluctantly obeys. The scent of the cinnamon tickles their nose. The water runs across their skin like silk, smoothing away their cares and their stress. Their muscles relax and they slip down into the tub, blowing bubbles with a flapping of their lips. A vanilla bean floats before their nose. Huffing at it, they push it across the water.

Levi combs through their hair with his fingers, tilting their head back gently to let the water touch their scalp and drench their hair. The stool complains when he shifts his weight and reaches for a small white bar on a little crooked shelf on the wall. He begins to lather it in his hands behind them; the smell of honey fills the air. Sitting up against the back of the tub, Hange ponders aloud, “Do you ever think about what our lives would be like if things were different?”

The sound of lathering stops. The stool beneath him creaks. “I can’t say I’ve given it much thought.”  
  
“I suppose I do enough of that for the both of us.” Hange tilts their head, allowing Levi to begin lathering the shampoo through their hair. He begins near their right ear and massages down their scalp to their neck, to the sound of their appreciative humming. Hange smiles a little to themselves and closes their eyes. He is somewhat more attentive than usual. “But something’s got to have rattled around in there at least once.”

“Well, obviously,” he states flatly, moving through their hair systematically. His touch is surprisingly soft this time—careful, even—without his usual sense of urgency.

Hange’s eyes open again and they gesture their thoughts into the air. “Imagine if I had this big spotted creature. You know, with a tall neck.” They squint in thought, and Levi’s hands stop in their silence. Their face contorts into a thoughtful pout. Hange nods and continues, “I could train it and ride it places.” They tilt their head to the other side, obliging him to continue his work. “Do you ever think about that?” Hange’s eyes drop to the water, trying to look back at him in a subtle way.

He takes a while to answer, finishing his next section first. “No one thinks about that.”

Water splashes when Hange’s hands hit the surface. Vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks twirl by their skin. “Oh, come on!” They roll their eyes and immediately tilt their head back, water clawing up their lathered hair, bubbles escaping into the water.

Levi leans forward to peer over them. His fingers work through their hair again, stroking the suds from their forehead down their hair. “No one but you.” His hands push their head back upright, firmer this time. Levi lifts a jug sitting by his side and fills it with his sweet and spicy bath concoction. He trickles it down through their hair, washing the suds away.

Hange closes their eyes and, with a deep breath, calmly states, “You can tell me if you do, you know.”

“Have thoughts?” His fingers comb through the strands of their hair, picking out the spices with careful precision. “They’re hardly interesting.” He fills the jug again, moving his fingers through their hair to clean it thoroughly. Levi hums faintly, satisfied that he is done.

“Everything’s interesting.” Hange sits and stretches their shoulders, resting their arms on the edges of the bath. The ceiling catches their attention and they stare up at a particular cobweb in the corner. “I want to know what’s going on in there...”

He fiddles with their hair idly. “Sometimes all there is…is a pile of shit behind the curtain ”

Hange tilts their head with a curious smile that he can’t see. “Well if there is, I can smell it from here.” Pulling up their knees, they lean back. Spices drift away from their bare skin poking through the white on the water’s surface.

Levi clears his throat and adjusts his position, the stool punctuating his movement. “That’s better than you stepping in it.” He leans forward. Hange can hear his skin rub against the tub and feel his breath lightly caress the bare skin on the nape of their neck.

Hange scoops the bathwater up in their hand, bringing it close to their eyes for inspection. A grin stretches over their mouth. “What’s with the spices?” Their fingers poke through the floating spices on their hand and they let the bits dribble back into the tub. Throwing their head back, they question him again with a raised brow. “Are you trying to brew me in one of your teas?” Hange’s hands reach up and their fingers intertwine atop their head as they sniff the air. “Not to mention the vanilla! You don’t even _like_ vanilla.”

They tilt their head back further, catching Levi’s eyes staring at them, unimpressed. The corner of their mouth tugs up in time with a wink of their left eye. He doesn’t flinch. His voice is matter-of-fact and deliberate when he speaks. “Are you pleased with yourself?”  
  
“Somewhat,” Hange chuckles. Their hand reaches down to the bathwater and flicks it up at him. Water hits Levi on the forehead. It drips down his face slowly, over his brows and down the curve of his nose. Hange laughs with a wide grin when they see no change in his face.

When they flick him again, water sprays through the air and it hits him in the cheek. He is quick this time, and before their hand can retreat, he brushes it to the side. “Take it easy, four-eyes.”

“Well, something is up that you’re not telling me.” Hange reaches up toward him. Their eyebrows furrow in concern.

Levi sighs and relaxes his shoulders. He leans forward and imitates their gesture, his hand sliding down their arm. Hange’s hand cups his cheek and for a moment they stare at each other before Levi asks quietly, “Can this just be enough?”

“No,” they say with a small smile, but as serious a tone as they can manage. “You have to get in with me.”

Levi huffs and a small flicker of a smile crosses his face. He stands, letting his hand linger for a moment. “How do you make everything okay?”

Hange shrugs. “I’ll get back to you on that.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this and want to share it on Tumblr, you can find the Tumblr post [here]().
> 
> I would love to hear your feedback here or you can also find me on [Tumblr](https://foxberryblue.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](http://twitter.com/foxberryblue) or on my writing only blog [Foxberry Writes](http://foxberrywrites.tumblr.com/).


End file.
